GelliPlast chooses Microgel™ Syncro technology to improve quality and production

The production area has 26 lines, with 25 injection presses from 80 tons to 1500 tons (with Cartesian robots for handling the molded products and conveyor belts that conclude the production cycle to-wards packaging) plus 1 line of laser cutting. A total of 559 active molds and 369 different types of raw materials are used, for the creation of 2147 finished products.

Investments in recent years, in fact, have allowed GelliPlast to also devote itself to the design and creation of its own product brands. Among the latest: the Flexy Dream, a modular support to be applied to the slats of the bed that has already been internationally patented.

Flexy Dream Dream is a product on which GelliPlast is betting strongly and for which it has created a dedicated launch plan, which allows for the commercial distribution of the product on a large scale.

The collaboration with Frigel

For twenty years now GelliPlast has relied on Frigel and its custom-designed solutions to optimize production processes in the plastic and rubber sector.

“We can say that we grew up together, one has seen the other grow and vice versa. Frigel has always offered us unrivaled levels of quality, product and service”. Filippo Gelli, Production Manager

The RSY solution - Microgel Syncro

GelliPlast continues to place its trust in Frigel: there is at least one Frigel unit on each of the 25 presses. Microgel temperature control units intelligently manage hundreds of different molds which are alternated week after week.

“Each press has its own recipes set directly on the Microgel, recipes that can be reused over time, which makes everything easier and well-planned. The line manager keeps production under control and has the possibility of acting directly on the temperature control parameters to optimize the quality of the product and reduce waste”.Filippo Gelli, Production Manager

In particular, the results obtained from the new Microgel Syncro model — which Frigel had initially proposed to GelliPlast for testing — were surprising. GelliPlast made it possible to install Syncro on a particular line with a technical finish. Given the performance obtained, GelliPlast has chosen the new syncro technology as standard for all new installations.

Syncro technology

Microgel RSY Syncro is revolutionizing temperature control in the injection molding of technical parts. The new approach is based on the complete integration between the mold temperature control system and the injection molding process. It allows for a significant reduction of the cycle time, up to 40%, guaranteeing a very high quality of the finished product.

Digitally synchronized with the mold, Microgel Syncro delivers cold water only during the cooling phase, drastically reducing the cooling time and keeping the mold cavities warm during the injection phase.

• Increases productivity up to 60% thanks to the strong reduction of cooling time

• Improves product quality in terms of dimensional tolerances, structural characteristics and aesthetic finish thanks to better mold filling

• Intelligently uses energy consumption thanks to the reduction of injection pressures, lower consumption of hot runners and lower clamping forces

The achieved results

Through an online tool GelliPlast carried out, with the support of Frigel, the fine tuning of the machine, finding the best recipe for the Flexy Dream application.

“The cycle time from 62 sec has passed to 50 sec, with a decrease of about 20%, against a consequent increase in productivity”. Filippo Gelli, Production Manager

A unit performance report is sent out weekly detailing the production and operation of the machine. The adoption of Microgel RSY Syncro has allowed GelliPlast to achieve surprising results, increasing its competitiveness in the market in proposing the new Flexy Dream product. 

“The adoption of Microgel Syncro has offered us the possibility of winning an order that we would otherwise have lost. The reduction in cycle time, waste and dead times has allowed us to significantly lower production costs”. Filippo Gelli, Production Manager

Remote supervision - MiND™

The project also included the installation of the Net-gel MiND™, a supervision system that monitors every single Frigel machine in the plant in real time. MiND is the ideal diagnostic solution that can facilitate the business transformation process towards INDUSTRY 4.0. It makes data reading and analysis immediate at any time, on any device.

“MiND allows us to keep production under control at any time of the day, even when we are away for work or on vacation. If the new generation plant weren't monitored by MiND, we wouldn't feel as relaxed as we are now”. Filippo Gelli, Production Manager

MiND proved to be useful and very easy to use for GelliPlast, allowing problems to be quickly resolved which in other cases would have blocked production for a long time. “From outside the office - recalls Filippo Gelli - I can receive machine/system block alerts on my smartphone. I can immediately contact the shift manager to check the systems. In a few tens of minutes, by analyzing the type and location of the error, it is possible to identify the problem quite easily, for example: the water filter is blocked. Thanks to MiND and the reactivity of Frigel service, a small complication is resolved quickly. Years ago similar episodes would have stopped production for hours”.

MiND is a tool that is enjoying great success, it is not noticeable but it makes a difference.